In commercial laundries, batches of washing are typically delivered to the washing machines by means of an overhead rail laundry transfer system having a railed storage area in which the soiled articles to be washed are sorted into select batches. The batches of dirty laundry are typically loaded into respective containers, typically bags, suspended from the overhead rails and held in a storage area. The bags are then moved from the storage area and around the laundry to a washing machine and the dirty washing loaded into the washing drum of the machine.
The washing machines are generally front loaders and laundry may be discharged into a cart and then loaded into the machine manually. Alternatively, the suspended container may be manoeuvred so that it can be discharged directly into the door of the machine. This is not always successful and the operator may need to retrieve items from the floor and/or may need to manually distribute the dirty laundry in the machine. A similar problem exists with loading batches of washed laundry into a tumble dryer, which are also generally front loaders.